Jan. 7.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 3

25. The chairman may, with the consent of the meeting, from time to time, and from place to place, adjourn any meeting.

26. If a poll be demanded it shall be taken by show of hands, or in such other manner as the chairman directs; the result of such poll shall be deemed to be a resolution of the committee, and the names of the members voting for or against the resolution, and the side on which each voted, shall be recorded in the book of the proceedings of the committee.

27. The committee may proceed in the manner prescribed by these regulations, or in such other manner as may be deemed best fitted for carrying out the provisions of sections seventeen and eighteen of the said Act.

28. Each party shall, in the order arranged by the committee, be entitled to call witnesses to give evidence in support of the grounds or take set forth in its claim, and each of the other parties shall be entitled to cross-examine all witnesses other than their own.

29. The committee may, if it thinks fit, require that the evidence of each witness shall be written down in Maori, and, after being read over to him, shall be signed by the witness and attested by the chairman and one member of the committee.

30. The party first proceeding to prove its case shall be deemed to be the claimant, and all other parties shall be counter-claimants. The case of the claimant and counter-claimants being concluded, the leader or conductor for the claimants shall be at liberty to address the committee in support of their claim.

Each of the counter-claimants’ leaders or conductors shall then be entitled to address the committee in the prescribed order, and the claimants’ leader or conductor shall be entitled to reply.

31. The committee may, if it think fit, at any stage of the proceedings, require each or any of the claimants to hand in a list, in writing, of the names of all persons of their party who claim to be interested in the land, or any part thereof in respect of the interest they represent.

32. On completion of the hearing of the claim and counter-claims, the committee shall proceed to draw up its report in form and manner directed by sections 17 and 18 of the Act, and shall, by registered letter addressed to the leader or conductor representing each of the parties, appoint a day, time, and place on and at which it will publish its report to a meeting of the parties claiming the land.

33. At such meeting the report shall be read out in the presence of those assembled, and objections called for.

34. All objections shall be in writing, and shall be signed by the objectors.

35. The committee may thereupon consider such objections, and may, if they think fit, alter or amend their report with a view to settle or adjust any objection.

36. The report of the committee shall thereupon be signed by the members of the committee and forwarded to the Council.

37. The Council shall thereupon fix a day to consider the report, and by notice in the Gazette and Kahiti, published at least forty-two days before the day fixed, call upon any objector to appear before it and support his objection.

38. If any objector appears he may give, or call witnesses to give, evidence before the Council in support of his objection, but shall not be allowed to go outside the points raised in his objection.

39. The Council shall then proceed to consider the report of the committee, and objections thereto (if any), and shall thereon make an order in Form G of the Schedule hereto, or as near as may be thereto.

PAPAKAINGAS.

40. Papakainga certificates shall be in Form H in the Schedule hereto, and shall have indorsed thereon by the Survey Department of the district in which the land is situate a plan of the land set apart by the certificate as a papakainga.

41. Upon the allocation of a papakainga to a Maori the Council shall issue a notice of allocation to such Maori in Form I in the Schedule hereto.

42. The Council shall thereupon cause a papakainga certificate to be prepared, and forward the same to the District Survey Office to enable a plan to be indorsed thereon.

43. In the event of there being no sufficient survey of the land the Council may request the Survey Department to have a survey made.

44. The Council may pay the cost of the survey as fixed by the Survey Department out of any funds at their disposal, or which it may borrow for such purpose on the security of any other lands owned by the Maori to whom such papakainga certificate has been allocated: Provided that where more than one papakainga has been included in the survey the cost of the survey shall be proportionately borne by each of the Maoris benefiting by the survey.

45. The Council may either pay for the survey in one sum or by instalments as it may arrange.

46. The Council shall collect from the holder of the papakainga certificate the cost of preparation and issue of the certificate according to scale.

LEASES.

Classification of Maori Lands.

47. The Council may classify Maori lands into three classes for the purpose of leasing the same, namely:—
    (1.) Town land, being township or village sites or sections heretofore reserved or set aside for Natives, or which shall hereafter be so reserved or set aside ;
    (2.) Suburban land, being land in the vicinity of any town lands ;
    (3.) Rural land, being lands not reserved for towns or villages.

All rural lands may be classified by the Council into first-class and second-class lands.

First-class land shall be deemed to be land suitable for agricultural purposes, of a value of not less than £1 per acre, and capable of being ploughed and producing crops.

Second-class land shall include all other descriptions of land, including standing forest, irrespective of value, and shall include pastoral lands within the meaning of “The Land Act, 1892.”

Opening up Lands for Lease.

48. The Council may, in order to open up any land transferred to it under all or any of the provisions of the said Act, or for any other purpose authorised by the said Act, borrow or raise money as therein provided, and expend the same for all or any of such purposes, and in such case the following provisions shall apply:—

49. Roading Lands.—The Council may, in roading lands to be opened for leasing, obtain the advice and assistance of the Chief Surveyor for the district in which the land is situate, or of any road surveyor or other officer employed by him, or may, with his approval, appoint some competent road surveyor or road engineer to lay off or grade any road that may be required, and to supervise the formation or construction of the same, or any bridge thereon.

All such roads shall be formed in manner similar to those formed by the Crown Lands Board of the district in which the lands are situate, known as bridle-tracks.

Through standing bush or forest the timber or trees shall be felled during the proper season for a width of 1 chain on each side of the bridle-track. The fallen bush shall be burnt at the proper season, and the land sown with an approved mixture of grass- and clover-seeds.

50. The cost of all roading, surveys, and other moneys expended in opening up land shall be a first charge on the revenue to be derived from the land benefited, and one-half of the rents and royalties to be received each half-year may be deducted by the Council and applied in repayment of the money raised for such purposes. Repayment of such moneys so raised shall be made by instalments as nearly as may be in accordance with the table of instalments adopted or in force for the time being under the Advances to Settlers Department, so that the principal and interest may be paid off by half-yearly instalments extending over a period not exceeding thirty-six years and a half.

Leases by Public Tender.

51. When the Council determines to offer for leasing in manner provided by the said Act lands, or parts thereof, it shall give public notice of such intention by publication for three consecutive weeks in the Gazette and Kahiti, and in the Maori and English languages in at least one local newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land to be leased is situated twice in each week for three consecutive weeks, and in such other manner as the Council thinks fit. The notice shall state that the lands to be leased are leased under the provisions of the said Act, shall specify the lands, allotments, or parcels of land intended to be leased by numbered lots, the upset rental determined by the Council in respect of each lot, and the time limited for making tenders, which time shall be not less than sixty days from the day of the first publication of the notice in such local newspaper as aforesaid, and also the place where such tenders are to be delivered, which may be such place as the Council shall in such notices specify. If the Council considers that, with respect to any lot, the lease should contain any special covenants, conditions, or provisions other than those in the lease hereafter set out, it shall in such advertisement state shortly such special covenants, conditions, and provisions. Any person who desires to tender for leasing any of the land so notified as aforesaid may within the time so limited as aforesaid deliver at the place so appointed as aforesaid a tender in writing, setting forth the lot he desires to lease, and specifying the rental he is prepared to pay therefor, and